Rwanda
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Countries
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Congo Brazza
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Ivory Coast
- Mali
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Togo
Other Regions
Rwanda is located in Central Africa, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is Kigali. Population was estimated at 7.8 million in 2003, and is growing at a rate of 1.84 percent. Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS. The Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups compose 99% of Rwanda’s population. Kinyarwanda, French, and English are all official languages of Rwanda.
Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa; landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. Rwanda continues to receive substantial amounts of aid money and was approved for IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in late 2000.
Publications
- Information about street children in Rwanda
- Swept Away: Street Children Illegally Detained in Kigali, Rwanda
- Lasting Wounds: Consequences of Genocide and War for Rwanda's Children